After the storm: Document damage, contact insurance carrier

Oct. 29, 2012

Written by

John Ferro

Poughkeepsie Journal

Insurance tips

Some tips on insurance when it comes to water: • Typical homeowners insurance policies do not cover floods, defined as surface waters. Only flood insurance, a separate policy, does, and only if you already have it. • Leakage from rain, snow melt and the like is usually not included in “named peril”-style coverage, often called HO2. “Special form,” or HO3, probably does cover it, at extra cost. • If there is damage to the house and you think it’s covered, call your insurance broker to report it. It may be a good idea to take photos while parts of the house are still wet. • Keep an eye, hand and nose out to check for lingering dampness and whether the insides of walls or ceilings remain soaked. Ventilation or replacement may be advisable.

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The wind blows. A tree comes down. There’s a hole in your roof.

Now what?

Although the time to obtain flood insurance or inventory items in your home is well before a storm hits, insurance agents say there are steps you can take after a storm hits to mitigate and then to document the damage.

Agents say if conditions are safe, property owners should attempt to do what they can to avoid further damage.

“If it is a safe environment and they can make a temporary repair — something to the tune of covering something with a tarp to prevent further rain damage, or removing debris that is blocking a drain or something — if they can do that safely, they certainly are encouraged to do that,” said Deke Rothacker, director of communications at Marshall & Sterling Insurance in Poughkeepsie.

Once the situation is stabilized, begin the documentation process. First, contact your insurance carrier . Then gather receipts and, if possible, make a visual record of the damage.

“The easiest way is to take a cellphone and take pictures, or video,” said Tim Dodge, director of research and media relations at the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc.

If possible, also gather images of what the damaged area looked like before the incident.